The word is derived from the Greek language. In Greek mythology, Thanatos (θάνατος: "death") is the personification of death. The English suffix -ology derives from the Greek suffix -logia (-λογια: "speaking").

"Death Speaks"

I didn't see a thread dedicated to this subject so I thought I'd start one.

This is a place where us Taphophiliacs can show off our photos and tell our stories.

(Taphophilia is a passion for and enjoyment of cemeteries.[1] The singular term is a taphophile.

The only difference between Socialism and National Socialism is the snappy uniforms. - Logan "Aside from ending Slavery, Fascism and Communist World Domination, War has never solved anything!""For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Chuck him out, the brute! But it's "Savior of 'is country" when the guns begin to shoot." - Rudyard Kipling"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."---George Orwell"Always Remember-All Lessons in Life are Expensive.....and the last one costs you everything you have." - Logan"Socialism is just Communism without a Dictator....and you can always find a Dictator!" - Logan"An Armed Man is a Citizen. An Unarmed Man is a Subject. Subject to anything anyone wants to do to him." - Logan

The only difference between Socialism and National Socialism is the snappy uniforms. - Logan "Aside from ending Slavery, Fascism and Communist World Domination, War has never solved anything!""For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Chuck him out, the brute! But it's "Savior of 'is country" when the guns begin to shoot." - Rudyard Kipling"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."---George Orwell"Always Remember-All Lessons in Life are Expensive.....and the last one costs you everything you have." - Logan"Socialism is just Communism without a Dictator....and you can always find a Dictator!" - Logan"An Armed Man is a Citizen. An Unarmed Man is a Subject. Subject to anything anyone wants to do to him." - Logan

But I think when caught they should be chained to the cemetery fence with large barrels of rotten produce for the public to throw at them.

)Well actually I think they should be buried alive but there is just too many namby-pambies out there to actually punish these creeps they way they should be punished.

The only difference between Socialism and National Socialism is the snappy uniforms. - Logan "Aside from ending Slavery, Fascism and Communist World Domination, War has never solved anything!""For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Chuck him out, the brute! But it's "Savior of 'is country" when the guns begin to shoot." - Rudyard Kipling"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."---George Orwell"Always Remember-All Lessons in Life are Expensive.....and the last one costs you everything you have." - Logan"Socialism is just Communism without a Dictator....and you can always find a Dictator!" - Logan"An Armed Man is a Citizen. An Unarmed Man is a Subject. Subject to anything anyone wants to do to him." - Logan

Sorry...meant to say "were Death Masks" but the "Edit" feature on this site seems to last somewhere between 2 and 3 seconds after the original posting.

The only difference between Socialism and National Socialism is the snappy uniforms. - Logan "Aside from ending Slavery, Fascism and Communist World Domination, War has never solved anything!""For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Chuck him out, the brute! But it's "Savior of 'is country" when the guns begin to shoot." - Rudyard Kipling"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."---George Orwell"Always Remember-All Lessons in Life are Expensive.....and the last one costs you everything you have." - Logan"Socialism is just Communism without a Dictator....and you can always find a Dictator!" - Logan"An Armed Man is a Citizen. An Unarmed Man is a Subject. Subject to anything anyone wants to do to him." - Logan

The only difference between Socialism and National Socialism is the snappy uniforms. - Logan "Aside from ending Slavery, Fascism and Communist World Domination, War has never solved anything!""For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Chuck him out, the brute! But it's "Savior of 'is country" when the guns begin to shoot." - Rudyard Kipling"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."---George Orwell"Always Remember-All Lessons in Life are Expensive.....and the last one costs you everything you have." - Logan"Socialism is just Communism without a Dictator....and you can always find a Dictator!" - Logan"An Armed Man is a Citizen. An Unarmed Man is a Subject. Subject to anything anyone wants to do to him." - Logan

Those photos are simply stunning! Where, again, is this cemetery? I am also one of the odd balls that love cemeteries - have since I was a kid. I still have pictures I took with my first camera - a Brownie - at about age 6 or 7 of St. Mary's in Virginia City. I still wonder who "Charlotte Barnum" was - tombstone I felt compelled to capture?? After reading through your first posts re: this subject I heard on NPR news (must have been 12/28 I think, if you want to find it) a beautiful story of a gentleman who's mission (he may have perhaps published, but I'm not sure, as I caught only the end of the piece) was collating, collecting and preserving obituaries - ones that were written prosaically or uniquely. What touched me about it and helped me explain my own interest in cemeteries, etc. is that he spoke of feeling that he made a connection with the deceased by preserving and reading their obits - and I may have inferred this, but that the spark in that person somehow lived on with his remembrance no matter how 'unimportant' the person may have been in life. I found the post-mortem pictures of children that you linked to so extraordinarily touching - the care with which their little bodies were taken, so sad and so sweet - truly poignant. Thanks for the very fascinating subject thread!

I see dance being used as communication between body and soul, to express what is too deep, too fine, for words. ~ Ruth St. Denis

I love cemeteries. There's one local one I love to go to, but I'm not sure why. It's not pretty, but there's just something about it I like. I like the artistry and shapes of the old headstones, the sadness and care of the old, homemade headstones. The cemetery where my parents are buried, there's a grave for a hunting dog. Cemeteries are full of forgotten stories.

Those photos are simply stunning! Where, again, is this cemetery? I am also one of the odd balls that love cemeteries - have since I was a kid. I still have pictures I took with my first camera - a Brownie - at about age 6 or 7 of St. Mary's in Virginia City. I still wonder who "Charlotte Barnum" was - tombstone I felt compelled to capture?? After reading through your first posts re: this subject I heard on NPR news (must have been 12/28 I think, if you want to find it) a beautiful story of a gentleman who's mission (he may have perhaps published, but I'm not sure, as I caught only the end of the piece) was collating, collecting and preserving obituaries - ones that were written prosaically or uniquely. What touched me about it and helped me explain my own interest in cemeteries, etc. is that he spoke of feeling that he made a connection with the deceased by preserving and reading their obits - and I may have inferred this, but that the spark in that person somehow lived on with his remembrance no matter how 'unimportant' the person may have been in life. I found the post-mortem pictures of children that you linked to so extraordinarily touching - the care with which their little bodies were taken, so sad and so sweet - truly poignant. Thanks for the very fascinating subject thread!

Thank you.

I took them in colour by greyscaled them for effect.

The Cemetery is Mt. View, Cemetery in Oakland, California.

Designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, Mountain View is the resting place of famous figures and ordinary people, the principal players in California's and San Francisco Bay's dramatic settlement.

People like author Frank Norris, artist Thomas Hill, architects Julia Morgan and Bernard Maybeck, captains of industry such as powerful railroad builder and banker Charles Crocker... all made their contributions to the shaping of a nation's frontier.

As Americans moved westward, man had achieved dominion over the land, overcoming hardships and nature to continue the march to California. But as man triumphed over his environment, he also came to question his place in nature. Mountain View Cemetery is an outgrowth of this contemplation.

The only difference between Socialism and National Socialism is the snappy uniforms. - Logan "Aside from ending Slavery, Fascism and Communist World Domination, War has never solved anything!""For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Chuck him out, the brute! But it's "Savior of 'is country" when the guns begin to shoot." - Rudyard Kipling"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."---George Orwell"Always Remember-All Lessons in Life are Expensive.....and the last one costs you everything you have." - Logan"Socialism is just Communism without a Dictator....and you can always find a Dictator!" - Logan"An Armed Man is a Citizen. An Unarmed Man is a Subject. Subject to anything anyone wants to do to him." - Logan

The only difference between Socialism and National Socialism is the snappy uniforms. - Logan "Aside from ending Slavery, Fascism and Communist World Domination, War has never solved anything!""For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Chuck him out, the brute! But it's "Savior of 'is country" when the guns begin to shoot." - Rudyard Kipling"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."---George Orwell"Always Remember-All Lessons in Life are Expensive.....and the last one costs you everything you have." - Logan"Socialism is just Communism without a Dictator....and you can always find a Dictator!" - Logan"An Armed Man is a Citizen. An Unarmed Man is a Subject. Subject to anything anyone wants to do to him." - Logan

Very Nice. I've allways wanted to go to Bodie but could never find the time.

You know.....that baby is even scarier in Greyscale!

EVIL BABY! GONNA GET YOU!

The only difference between Socialism and National Socialism is the snappy uniforms. - Logan "Aside from ending Slavery, Fascism and Communist World Domination, War has never solved anything!""For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Chuck him out, the brute! But it's "Savior of 'is country" when the guns begin to shoot." - Rudyard Kipling"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."---George Orwell"Always Remember-All Lessons in Life are Expensive.....and the last one costs you everything you have." - Logan"Socialism is just Communism without a Dictator....and you can always find a Dictator!" - Logan"An Armed Man is a Citizen. An Unarmed Man is a Subject. Subject to anything anyone wants to do to him." - Logan

I love cemeteries. There's one local one I love to go to, but I'm not sure why. It's not pretty, but there's just something about it I like. I like the artistry and shapes of the old headstones, the sadness and care of the old, homemade headstones. The cemetery where my parents are buried, there's a grave for a hunting dog. Cemeteries are full of forgotten stories.

Welcome to the club. We all feel the weight and presence of history when visiting a cemetery.

Any thinking individual would.

Then sometimes things just leap out at you from nowhere.....

Something told me to take this photo that day.....I don't know why since it was a very plain stone but the name struck me as sounding familiar for some reason.

The only difference between Socialism and National Socialism is the snappy uniforms. - Logan "Aside from ending Slavery, Fascism and Communist World Domination, War has never solved anything!""For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Chuck him out, the brute! But it's "Savior of 'is country" when the guns begin to shoot." - Rudyard Kipling"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."---George Orwell"Always Remember-All Lessons in Life are Expensive.....and the last one costs you everything you have." - Logan"Socialism is just Communism without a Dictator....and you can always find a Dictator!" - Logan"An Armed Man is a Citizen. An Unarmed Man is a Subject. Subject to anything anyone wants to do to him." - Logan

I don't know how a writer could get "writer's block" when a stroll through an old cemetery can give you volumes upon volumes of stories.

The only difference between Socialism and National Socialism is the snappy uniforms. - Logan "Aside from ending Slavery, Fascism and Communist World Domination, War has never solved anything!""For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Chuck him out, the brute! But it's "Savior of 'is country" when the guns begin to shoot." - Rudyard Kipling"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."---George Orwell"Always Remember-All Lessons in Life are Expensive.....and the last one costs you everything you have." - Logan"Socialism is just Communism without a Dictator....and you can always find a Dictator!" - Logan"An Armed Man is a Citizen. An Unarmed Man is a Subject. Subject to anything anyone wants to do to him." - Logan